The city council of the city of Stanwood, Washington, has determined that it is reasonable and in the public interest to enact and impose a “plant investment charge” for the purpose of recovering an equitable share of the costs of water, sewer and drainage facilities from those properties within the utility service areas which, as a part of their development and use, create needs for those facilities. The city council finds that the public would benefit from a logical long range approach to the financing of necessary facilities. Experience has demonstrated that the lack of such provision casts an unfair and unexpected burden on taxpayers and residences in the form of taxes, bond interest costs and assessments when core or central facilities become inadequate, causing a crisis. Operating from crisis to crisis is wasteful, unsafe and no longer an acceptable method of local government, and debt financing should be minimized wherever possible. The “plant investment charge” herein described is designed and calculated to be of such amount as will eventually create reasonable reserves to pay the public’s fair share of basic and essential service facilities as the need arises. (Ord. 1405 § 1 (Exh. 1), 2015; Ord. 1107, 2001; Ord. 787 § 2, 1989).